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Governor Dunleavy called the Alaska Legislature into a special session on May 16, 2019 to adopt operating and capital budgets, fund education, provide a full PFD as outlined in statute, and pass an effective crime package. With 23 days left in the first special session, these items remain outstanding. Facebook0TwitterEmailPrintFriendly分享Governor Mike Dunleavy Thursday issued a statement following one week of special session on the back of a 121-day regular session, in which the legislative leadership has failed to accomplish the basic tasks of government which includes passing a constitutionally mandated budget: Gov. Dunleavy: “The legislative leadership has delayed for too long the essential priorities of this session. We are now approaching 130 days without final action on critical bills, specifically: No operating budgetNo supplemental budgetNo capital budgetNo education fundingNo PFDNo crime billThe people of Alaska made their voices clear both in the election last fall and this session – tackle crime, provide a full PFD, and balance the budget to fund core services of government, including education. It’s time for the leadership of both bodies to act in the best interest of Alaskans by bringing these issues to the floor for a vote.”read more

More about Uscooter Electric Scooter Audi E-Tron Scooter will help you zip from train to office and back 17 Photos 1:27 2020 BMW M340i review: A dash of M makes everything better This scooter will drive itself. It’s weird. Ninebot Companies have started to look past automobiles in an effort to decongest major cities and look for new ways to get humans from point A to point B in a more efficient fashion. One industry that’s received quite a bit of attention is scooters. While it’s easy to recall days of manually powered scooters that may or may not have whacked the back of your ankle, Ninebot has a different idea.China-based Ninebot revealed its latest smart scooter at Innovation in AI-powered Mobility in Beijing this past Friday called the KickScooter T60 and it will actually drive itself to charging station. See? No more whacked ankles. Not only can the scooter pilot itself back to a charging station when it’s time to rejuice, but its cloud-based mechanics can drive it to a user on its own.For example, say a large social event just let out. The company can look at this data and dispatch a flock of KickScooter T60s to the area for people to jump on and ride off. I’m not sure I want to see what a group of these zipping around without a driver looks like, though. The idea is pretty unnerving. Ninebot didn’t explicitly say what kind of technology unlocks the autonomous abilities but it said the scooter uses “vision-based navigation technology.” Obviously, something needs to award the machine the ability to “see” the world around it, whether that’s lidar, radar or something else.Ninebot also took the wraps off two new delivery robots. DeliveryBot S2 is an upgraded version of the S1 that can see the world better via its lidar and also go up and down elevators without help. Meanwhile, DeliveryBot X1 can tackle city infrastructure and even recognize traffic lights and withstand rain. Tags The newest Lime scooters beef up for safety at CES 2019 More From Roadshow 1 2019 Audi Q8 review: Stop worrying and love the roof Comment Share your voice 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback review: Goody two-shoes Now playing: Watch this: Preview • The best folding electric scooter you can buy Car Industry Auto Techread more

Stories are posted on the APRN news page. You can subscribe to APRN’s newsfeeds via email, podcast and RSS. Follow us on Facebook at alaskapublic.org and on Twitter @aprnListen nowSenators aim for $1,600 dividends, early school fundingAndrew Kitchenman, KTOO – JuneauIt’s likely Alaska Permanent Fund dividends will be roughly $1,600 dollars this year. That’s because the Senate Finance Committee’s draft version of the state budget includes the same amount as the House.As oil spill response vessels arrive, Alyeska argues Prince William Sound safer than everElizabeth Harball, Alaska’s Energy desk – AnchorageAlyeska Pipeline Service Company is bringing on Edison Chouest as a new contractor responsible for oil spill prevention and response. The switch has drawn scrutiny and criticism. So Alyeska is trying hard to reassure Alaskans that Prince William Sound — the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill — will be safer than ever before.Northern Dynasty and First Quantum extend deadline for finilizing Pebble option agreementAvery Lill, KDLG – DillinghamIn December, Northern Dynasty Minerals and First Quantum Minerals announced that First quantum had agreed to buy into Pebble at $150 million for the option to become a 50 percent owner of the Pebble Limited Partnership at the end of four years. On Thursday, the companies extended the deadline to finalize that option agreement from April 6 to April 30.Searchers recover body of man missing out of WhittierAssociated PressThe body of a man missing on a weekend boating trip out of Whittier has been recovered.Mat-Su Borough looks to change school funding formulaCasey Grove, Alaska Public Media – AnchorageA proposed ordinance before the Mat-Su Assembly would direct the borough to calculate funding of schools as a percentage of the property taxes it takes in each year, and it would set the rate for five years.Political operative accused of battery in VegasLiz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media – Washington D.C.Sen. Dan Sullivan’s former campaign manager Ben Sparks may be facing arrest following a bizarre report of domestic violence in Las Vegas.Sitka herring fishery closes early, 8,300 tons short of quotaEmily Kwong, KCAW – SitkaThe Sitka sac roe herring fishery has shut down early this year, falling 8,330 tons short of this year’s guideline harvest level.Wrangell cancels it’s 65-year-old King Salmon DerbyJune Leffler, KSTK – Wrangell“This time people aren’t going to be able to fish for quite a while and retain the fish. So this will get people really excited to get on the water and compete.”Mistake invalidates ban on distilleries serving cocktailsAssociated PressMembers of the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board have been told that their January vote forbidding distilleries from serving alcoholic mixed drinks is invalid.Alaska welcomes home Olympians in gold medal celebrationEmily Russell, Alaska Public Media – Anchorage“This may be the first [medal] in women’s cross-country [skiing], but it’s not going to be the last,” Alaskan Olympic gold medalist Kikkan Randall said.read more

Hina Khan at Cannes Film Festival 2019ReutersHina Khan, who made a stunning appearance at the Cannes Film Festival for the promotion of her debut film Lines, is surely proving her dedication towards work.The actress has started shooting for her next– Wish List – the day she left French Riviera. Hina has an extended European schedule for Wish List, which will see her paired opposite a UK-based actor Jitendra Rai and is directed by Rahat Kazmi.According to a Mumbai Mirror report, the film is about a couple who learns that one of them is suffering from an incurable disease and has very little time to live. So, the couple embarks for a trip to enjoy life to the fullest.”Hina Khan’s role is very different from Lines in which she played a simple girl from Kashmir,” the source said.Confirming the news, the actress said: “It’s a touching film with a strong message, being shot in some of the most beautiful locations in Europe. As someone who loves to travel, it’s a treat as I’m getting to explore the best of Europe.”Speaking about her character, Hina said that the girl is like her in many ways. “She’s a workaholic who cheers everyone around her with her positivity. The film deals with regular issues and choices but in inspirational ways and offering a new perspective,” Hina concluded.Hina made a spell-bound debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2019 wearing a shimmery grey gown by Lebanese designer Ziad Nakad. Her pictures from the red carpet have gone viral on the internet with millions praising her for her big outing.However, Jitesh Pillai, a popular film magazine editor, chose to mock Hina’s Cannes appearance on social media. Sharing Hina’s picture from the red carpet, the editor commented on whether Cannes has become Chandivali with a question mark.While many of her colleagues came to her rescue and bashed Pillai, Hina too gave a befitting reply to the editor. Perhaps, Hina’s tweet brought some kind of realisation and Pillai took to Instagram to state that his comment was misconstrued and apologised the actress. Hina Khaninstagramread more

Vijay Devarakonda, Kiara AdvaniInstagramKabir Singh, which is an official remake of Telugu blockbuster Arjun Reddy directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, has been rewriting box office records in the domestic market. The movie crossed Rs 100 crore mark in just 5 days and now it is all set to cross Rs 150 crore mark on the 7th day of its release in theatres. And while Shahid Kapoor is getting praises from all corners, Arjun Reddy star Vijay Devarakonda has sent a special gift to the film’s leading lady Kiara Advani for her brilliant performance.Mightily impressed by Kiara’s role in Kabir Singh, Vijay sent her clothes of his line as a token of love and appreciation for the success of the film. And Kiara, who was overwhelmed with joy, was all hearts for Vijay for his sweet gesture. “Thank youuu Arjun,” Kiara wrote on Instagram.Shahid Kapoor has scored his first solo century with Kabir Singh and the actor seems to have gripped the nation with his portrayal of self-destructive character.The producers of Kabir Singh – Bhushan Kumar, Murad Khetani, Krishan Kumar and Ashwin Varde – are laughing their way to the banks with the commercial success of Kabir Singh. Murad shared that they initially planned to release the film in 2,500-2,800 screens pan India but “owing to the response we garnered in advance booking, we released the movie in 3,123 screens. Kiara AdvaniInstagramread more

European Parliamentary (EP) delegation discusses latest political developments in Bangladesh with senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office on Wenesday. Photo: BNPVisiting European Parliamentary (EP) delegation on Wednesday met senior leaders of the country’s main opposition political party – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – and discussed country’s latest political developments.Led by the chair of the South Asia Delegation of the EU parliamentary standing committee for foreign affairs Jean Lambert, the EU parliamentary delegation met the BNP leaders at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office this evening.Read more: EU asks Dhaka to hold inclusive electionsAfter the meeting, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told waiting reporters that they discussed country’s latest political developments and the verdict that sentenced BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to five years in jail.“They told us that they want inclusive elections in Bangladesh,” said Fakhrul.He said the EU parliamentary delegation has come to Bangladesh essentially to assess the situation ahead of the next general elections.The BNP secretary general also said the EU is assessing the situation to decide whether they will send their election observers in the next polls.“They didn’t send observers in the 2014 general elections. That’s why, they hope that Bangladesh will get inclusive polls in future,” added Fakhrul.read more

Story Links Did you know…?A student-athlete may be compensated for providing lessons to individuals on an instructional basis as long as a few requirements are met. The student-athlete must not conduct the lessons using their institution’s facilities, the compensation must be paid by the individual receiving the lesson or their family, and the student-athlete must not advertise the lessons using their name or image. See bylaw 12.4.2.1 for more information. 12.4.2.1 Fee-for-Lesson Instruction. A student-athlete may receive compensation for teaching or coaching sport skills or techniques in his or her sport on a fee-for-lesson basis, provided: [R](Revised: 1/9/96 effective 8/1/96, 4/25/02 effective 8/1/02, 4/2/03 effective 8/1/03, 1/23/19)(a) Institutional facilities are not used;(b) Playing lessons shall not be permitted;(c) The compensation is paid by the lesson recipient (or the recipient’s family member) and not another individual or entity;(d) Instruction to each individual is comparable to the instruction that would be provided during a private lesson when the instruction involves more than one individual at a time; and(e) The student-athlete does not use his or her name, picture or appearance to promote or advertise the availability of fee-for-lesson sessions.Print Friendly Versionread more

Free Webinar | Sept. 9: The Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Going Global 7 min read Register Now » Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Our company has taught a lot of people how to code — with more than 1,200 total enrollments selected from over 3,000 applications submitted for our programs. Reflecting on the past three years, I couldn’t help but pause and think how far we’ve come from our first class of 17 students.It’s been a roller coaster, to say the least. But along with the ride’s bumps, turns, ups and downs, I’ve learned some pretty profound lessons. 1. Education is one of the most fulfilling endeavors.Even today, I often think about the early success stories that drove me to build our program from its start as a very intensive side hobby. I initially found my way into the coding industry as a self-taught programmer. I’d worked for a variety of startups over nearly a decade. I’d learned an incredible amount about building things, solving problems and running a business.But I’d never before built something with the ability to make such a successful impact in another human being’s life. I began teaching people how to code as a side project in 2013, and it didn’t take long to see positive effects. I’ve witnessed people take incredible, empowered leaps forward into lucrative careers that dramatically change the trajectory of their lives. These were the same people who came to the program hating their jobs, desperately needing career advancement or simply unemployed at the moment. Nothing else I’ve ever built can come close to making those kinds of claims.I believe this is one reason why so many people love teaching. There’s an innate passion for connecting with another soul to impart knowledge, then watching someone learn new skills and better themselves. Many of our teachers describe this as moment “when the lights go on” behind a student’s eyes. It’s thrilling, fun and wonderfully impactful.2. Almost anyone can learn to code.There’s a common misperception that in order to work as a coder, developer or programmer, you must be a mathematical genius or hold some kind of an advanced degree. This may have been the norm in decades past, but it’s far from true today.There are two reasons for this shift.First, as software continues eating the world, there’s a nearly impossible-to-fill skills gap that’s widening between the number of programming-related jobs and the people skilled enough to fill them. Combine this insatiable demand for talent with a sub-cultural shift of regarding labels such as “nerd” and “dweeb” as positive indicators of nuanced passion rather than pariah-like brands, and you end up with many more people interested in coding. This is bad news for elitism but great news for diversity.Second, the field changes drastically. This is due in part to a wider variety of jobs requiring talent in computer engineering. The lines are blurring everywhere. There are still companies with traditionally siloed divisions, but more businesses see real value in crossover among marketing, sales, customer services and other departments. Think of the the “growth hacker” label as a prime example.Related: 4 Warning Signs Your Team is Working in Siloes and How To Destroy ThemOur program has welcomed artists, graphic designers, political scientists, former fast food workers, salespeople, MBAs and many others. And they’ve excelled. In fact, this diversity of skill sets is an asset as our graduates bring unique perspectives to our program, their new employers and the coding industry. Fin Tech companies love accountants-turned-programmers. Startups love engineers who can wear multiple hats.The field is as accessible and diverse as it ever has been, and it’s only getting better.3. Arrogance is learning’s No. 1 enemy.We’ve selected, taught, evaluated and seen hundreds of students successfully graduate and move on to great careers. The longer I’m involved, the more convinced I become that certain traits and characteristics prove detrimental to learning. No. 1 on my list is arrogance. Arrogance is a natural enemy to learning because learning itself requires recognizing there are things you don’t yet know and must work to master. People who struggle with a sense of arrogance or superiority want only to prove how much more they know than others. They create nearly insurmountable blind spots about their own deficiencies and overestimate their mastery of topics.These people are hard to teach because they constantly seek to one-up the teacher or ask questions that aren’t really questions. Instead, they’re comments designed to showcase personal expertise on the subject. They’re equally difficult to mentor. They lack the humility needed to understand it’s not the syntax itself that’s frustrating them, but rather their own inability to master the correct syntax. Even more lamentable, arrogant people often find trouble getting hired. When or if they do land with a employer, they find fit with the wrong kinds of businesses. Not surprisingly, arrogant individuals are drawn to companies that value false bravado over a humble earnestness to learn and grow.Related: 5 Ways to Reach Entrepreneurial Humility4. Classrooms should be laboratories.Ever been to a restaurant where the menu always changes? It’s a bit of a gamble for you and the restaurateur, too. A shifting product line is risky because humans generally seek goods and services that are predictable and consistent in quality.Early on in our program, we worried greatly that students might perceive our curriculum, teaching methods or assessments as far too malleable and iterative. We didn’t want to send the wrong message or contribute to false perceptions.The benefits of this dynamic type of instruction far outweigh the risks. We view our classrooms as laboratories. We’re constantly experimenting with new methods, curricula options, tools and educational delivery styles to produce optimal results. We’re a Research & Development institution that produces a high-quality product — it just happens to be educational in nature.How I wish I could see more of this in traditional education! The most economical incentive for educators leads them to build a lesson plan once and apply only minor tweaks 10 minute prior to class. In reality, this is both selfish and completely counterproductive. Curriculum development should be iterative. And teaching methods themselves should be fluid, ever-improving and subject to nearly real-time adjustments. To remain relevant and provide value, educational institutions must take a hard look at what they’re teaching and how they’re teaching it.5. So much more needs to be done.Here’s one among my thousands of paranoias that used to keep me up at night: “What if we put ourselves out of business?” I assumed there was some finite market of people ready to learn to code and an equally finite number of businesses wanting to hire them. It feels as silly now to type it as it does to see it on the screen. Obviously, our steady stream of applicants and successful hires proves that one fear, at least, was unfounded.Companies will continue to need talented workers who can perform, learn and develop their skills in-house. Similarly, people always will look for better and more efficient ways to learn new concepts without gambling on a cost curve that far outpaces inflation. For now, we’re talking only about code. But we realize many industries have yet to be born. The standard “ivory tower” educational approach will be ill-suited to serve these emerging disciplines.Related: 5 Reasons Startup Founders Are Wise to Learn Some CodingThe world is changing at an increasing pace. Likewise, our views on education must adapt. We need to empower more people, prepare them better and teach them more effectively. The opportunities are out there, but we can’t rely on what’s always been done. And we certainly can’t pin our hopes on outdated methods and overly bureaucratic educational institutions. Less than 20 years into the 21st Century, it’s clear these “answers” will be woefully insufficient to meet the demands. Technology continues to improve at exponential rates — education has much work ahead to catch up. Growing a business sometimes requires thinking outside the box. July 26, 2016read more

NiYO, the new-age digital banking solutions provider for salaried employees, has launched NiYO Global Travel Card, which is the first-ever forex card with ‘zero forex mark-up’. Travellers, using this card, will not pay any currency exchange premium and international transaction fees – unlike a regular forex card.With the NiYO Global Travel Card, the overseas traveller will effectively have no need for the usual multi-currency forex cards or travellers’ cheques – all the while making international transactions cost-effective across 150-plus countries and 35 million merchants worldwide.Besides the cost-effective feature, NiYO Global Card also offers instant digital onboarding, convenient loading from the user’s bank account via NEFT/IMPS.The card is supported by a cutting-edge mobile app, which gives users the ability to lock and unlock either the full card or a payment channel anytime, anywhere in the world. The app also provides real-time notifications on usage, exchange rates and refunds, while helping users find convenient ATM locations, avail nearby offers – thus making it one of the most modern cards in the world today.Further, business travellers can submit claims on-the-go by adding bills for each transaction right in the app. These claims can be instantaneously approved by their employer organisations via the NiYO Corporate Portal.NiYO CEO and Co-founder Vinay Bagri said, “The forex card market in India is worth USD 17 billion; around 20 million people are expected to travel abroad this year. By 2020, this number will rise to 50 million. With such a staggering number of Indians travelling abroad, we aim to capture a lion’s share of the market.”NiYO CTO and Co-founder Virender Bisht said, “Our aim has been to facilitate hassle-free experience among our customer. Forex is one of the key components for travel and remains a concern. International travellers are always burdened with high currency exchange rate charged by banks, which varies between 1-3% of the amount transacted. Banks also charge either a flat fee or a set percentage of the transaction amount in addition to the currency exchange charge. Moreover, people are also very worried about card security abroad. This card is a one-stop solution for all of these problems. We have invested our best effort and technology in the designing process to provide the safety feature along with other components. The card has already been reviewed and appreciated by many top executives from the India Inc. and today, we are glad to present it to our customers at large.”read more

It was one of Donald Trump’s first acts as President: a Jan. 23, 2017 executive order that cuts off U.S. support to foreign groups unless they promise not to “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.” This includes providing patients with referrals or information about the procedure, even if those activities are funded by non-U.S. government sources.Every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has adopted a variant of the “Mexico City policy” — so called after the city where it was first announced. And every Democratic successor has reversed it.But Trump’s version is far more sweeping. Rather than limiting the ban to U.S. aid for family planning services, Trump has for the first time applied it to aid for virtually all global health services, including HIV treatment and prevention. Meaning if any health service also provides information on abortion, it can’t get U.S. funding. As NPR has previously reported, some of the world’s largest charities providing health care for people in poor countries have deemed the terms ethically or logistically unacceptable — critics often refer to the policy as “the global gag rule.” As a result, these groups have already given up millions of dollars in U.S. funding and begun cutting back on services.Less well-known is that the administration has actually included several exceptions to the policy — essentially a list of conditions under which a group that accepts U.S. aid money can still refer clients to an abortion provider. Now several advocacy groups that oppose the policy are trying to spread the word. Among them is the Washington, D.C.-based group Center for Health and Gender Equity, or CHANGE, which released this month a report that includes an analysis of these exceptions.”This is so important and yet people don’t know about it — even my colleagues in the U.S.,” says Serra Sippel, executive director of CHANGE. “Across the board in terms of groups in [the affected] countries as well as those of us advocating in Washington, D.C., we don’t have all this information.”Activists and political leaders who oppose abortion argue that the Mexico City policy is needed to ensure compliance with the spirit — and not just the letter — of a long-standing Congressional ban on using taxpayer money to fund abortions overseas. That ban — which has been regularly passed as part of foreign aid spending bills since 1973 — only prohibits direct U.S. funding of foreign groups that perform abortions or “motivate” people to get abortions. The ban does not prevent groups that receive U.S. support from using monies from other, non-U.S. sources to do abortion-related work. That’s where the Mexico City policy comes in.Contacted by NPR for comment, the U.S. State Department declined to provide an official to speak on the record but issued a statement reiterating that rationale. “Supporting the abortion industry and abortion lobby in other countries is incompatible with U.S. law, and undermines our public diplomacy interests,” the statement read. “When the United States provides taxpayer-funded aid to help the poorest of the poor … it is critical that the message associated with our country is our warm recognition of the dignity, worth and potential of each life we touch.”The statement added that “the policy does not change funding levels by one dollar” and that U.S. aid agencies will be re-allocating monies from groups that refuse the terms of the policy to those that do.But opponents of the policy, such as CHANGE’s Sippel, argue that there aren’t enough health-care groups that would be willing or able to step in for those that decline the funding. So she’s hoping one way to ensure that the policy does not disrupt health services to the world’s neediest will be to educate more groups on how to get around it. In particular Sippel points to two exceptions that, on their face, may seem esoteric but which could ultimately have enormous scope.The first of these is called the “affirmative duty defense.” It exempts providers in countries where the national law specifically requires them to provide counseling and referral for abortion as a method of family planning. In other words, in these countries, if the provider, say a nurse at a health clinic, were to comply with the U.S. ban on discussing abortion, then that provider would be in violation of their own country’s laws.In legal parlance, these providers are considered to have an “affirmative duty” to offer abortion counseling and referrals. So the Trump Administration’s regulations entitle them to invoke this “affirmative duty” defense to continue discussing abortion without triggering a violation of the terms of their U.S. funding.CHANGE was one of several groups that successfully lobbied the Trump administration to include the exemption for affirmative duty in the regulations. The activists were particularly concerned about how the policy could impact South Africa.”South Africa has probably one of the most progressive abortion laws in the world,” says Sippel. “In South Africa, the right to an abortion is enshrined in the constitution.” That means health providers — including providers that don’t directly work on family planning but who might confront abortion questions in the course of say, community outreach on sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, “have an obligation to provide information for women so they can access safe abortion.”At the same time South Africa is one the largest single recipients of U.S. aid dollars to combat HIV/AIDS. And moving forward, disbursement of much of that money will be covered by Trump’s more expansive version of the policy.”We were horrified,” says Sippel. “Our reaction was, how are groups in South Africa going to be able to accept this funding?” Agreeing to the terms, “would put them in direct violation of South African law. And what a disaster this would be if no organization in South Africa could accept U.S. HIV/AIDS funding.”Getting the exemption language into the regulations was a major victory for the activists — but also only the first step. The ultimate test will be whether aid groups in South Africa choose to invoke the affirmative duty defense.So far it’s hard to know how many will do so. “It’s way too early to have quantitative data,” says Jennifer Kates, director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking the impact worldwide. One reason is that so many groups are only now facing the expiration of grandfathered U.S. assistance grants and making the decision about whether to reapply for new funding that would be covered by the policy.Still, Sippel of CHANGE says anecdotal evidence suggests many aid groups in South Africa are unaware of the exemption. And because the “affirmative duty” clause does not specify by name which nations it covers, they may be reluctant to assume the exemption applies in their case without explicit advance confirmation from the Administration.Administration officials did not directly address NPR’s request for comment regarding the Administration’s reasons for including the “affirmative duty” exemption. But in the statement they gave NPR they said that “the U.S. government will respond to those organizations that have asked for further clarification of the policy.”Sippel says she’s hopeful that if a group can get U.S. officials to issue a statement explicitly naming South Africa as a nation where the affirmative duty defense can be invoked, the impact could be enormous.”South Africa is the clearest example of where there’s really no ambiguity in the law,” she says, “but there are other countries we are looking at where this could also apply.”Chief among them are Kenya and Mozambique. Getting a clear pronouncement from the administration on South Africa “will really help us with other countries to get this information out there,” she says.Another exemption with potentially sweeping implications is one that has been in every version of the policy since Reagan. Known as the “passive referral” exception, it spells out that in countries where abortion is legal, a health-care worker with a group receiving U.S. aid dollars can tell a woman where she can obtain an abortion if the following four conditions are met:The woman is already pregnant.She states that she has already decided to have an abortion.She then asks where she can obtain the abortion safely and legally.And finally, the provider believes that the ethics of the medical profession in their country require them to respond with information.This is less of a loophole than it might appear, cautions Sippel, because the set-up requires the woman to know that abortion is a legal option in her case and proactively request a referral.There may also be linguistic challenges. For instance, in Zimbabwe, says Sippel, a representative of one aid organization told her that the Shona language spoken there does not actually have a word for “abortion.” Instead, says Sippel, women may use a term that roughly translates as “aggressively pulling or removing.” If a provider is relying on an interpreter who translates that word ambiguously, they may be nervous about jeopardizing their U.S. funding over a technicality.It’s also likely that many groups are simply unaware that passive referral is permitted. Kates notes that U.S. aid is often funneled through larger charities, which then pass it on to much smaller local groups operating on the ground. At each stage, the rules of the policy must be communicated down. “So it’s a game of telephone,” she says, and conveying highly legalistic exceptions is particularly challenging.Sippel says for all its narrowness, the passive referral exception could be useful to supporters of abortion-rights. “This is obviously not ideal, but any kind of exception we can find is a good thing,” she says. “If there are these small slivers of reprieve that we can offer groups it’s important for us to get the information out there.” Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.read more

The leaders of seven drug industry giants were forced to defend their industry’s prices and business practices on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as lawmakers criticized them for failing to put patients before profits. “Prescription drugs did not become outrageously expensive by accident,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “Drug prices are astronomically high because that’s where pharmaceutical companies and their investors want them.”The pharmaceutical company leaders, testifying at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, acknowledged that their prices are high for many patients, but they deflected blame onto the insurance industry, government and middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers.They each acknowledged briefly that they have some role to play in helping lower drug prices. But they defended their industry by touting their multibillion-dollar investments in research and development and praising advances in treatments for cancer, hepatitis C, schizophrenia and autoimmune diseases. “Last year, Janssen invested $8.4 billion globally in research and development, making Janssen one of the top research and development investors in any industry anywhere in the world,” said Jennifer Taubert, worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson, which owns Janssen.The drug industry leaders also pointed out that the list prices they set for drugs are not what they are actually paid by insurance companies or pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen that negotiate discounts and rebates on behalf of employers or insurers, which include companies like CVS Caremark and Express Scripts.”We want these rebates, which lower net prices, to benefit patients,” said Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Sanofi, which makes Lantus, one of the highest priced brands of insulin, whose list price has risen from $244 to $431 since 2013, according to the committee. “Unfortunately, under the current system, savings from rebates are not consistently passed through to patients in the form of lower deductibles, co-payments or coinsurance amounts,” Brandicourt said in testimony prepared for the hearing.According to investment research firm SSR Health, the net price of Lantus has declined 28 percent over the last two years because of those discounts and rebates.”Addressing list prices alone will not be sufficient for solving the problem of patients’ out-of-pocket costs,” Brandicourt said. But the Senators had little patience for those arguments. “For a patient taking a drug that has no competition, the list price becomes very important,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee’s chairman. “I’ve heard about people skipping doses of their prescription drugs to make them last until the next paycheck.”Wyden piled on.”I think you and others in the industry are stonewalling on the key issue, which is actually lowering list prices,” he said. “Lowering those list prices is the easiest way for consumers to pay less at the pharmacy counter.”Many patients have to pay the full price for a prescription drug until they meet their deductible, and others have payments that are calculated as a percentage of the list price. So higher list prices often translate to higher costs at the pharmacy counter, even when pharmacy benefit managers and insurers have negotiated discounts.Several of the drug company leaders said they support a Trump administration proposal to change the current system in which drug prices are set using secret rebates negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers. The change would make those rebates illegal and force pharmacy benefit managers to instead negotiate discounts upfront so that people will get the discounts at the pharmacy counter even if they haven’t yet met their deductible. Several of the CEOs, under pressure from Grassley, said they would lower their list prices if that proposal is finalized and the rule applied to both government and commercial prescription drug plans.”It is our very clear intention that we will not keep a single dollar from these rebates. We will try to move every single penny to the patients,” said Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer. Taubert of Johnson & Johnson said the company’s final price would depend on whether additional fees were imposed by pharmacy benefit managers. However, they said they don’t want to see the government negotiating drug prices directly through Medicare, a proposal that has been brought forward by Democrats and was originally embraced by President Trump.”The government should not directly control the price of medicines either through federal government price controls or worse, outsourcing prices to other countries,” Brandicourt said. Even as the companies protest that the high list prices of their products don’t reflect what they actually make on those products, drugmakers have consistently enjoyed some of the highest profit margins of any industry. Pharmaceutical manufacturers’ profit margins have exceeded 26 percent for the last three years and 22 percent for the past 10 years, according to a presentation by CVS Health that cited Macrotrends.net as its source. The company executives were not supportive of another Trump proposal to tie the price that Medicare pays for drugs to the prices paid in other developed countries. “We need an American solution to this American challenge,” said Taubert of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit. Wyden grilled Richard Gonzalez, CEO of AbbVie, about why his company’s drugs cost on average 40 percent less in Germany and France than in the United States. (AbbVie makes the drug Humira, which generates about $18 billion in revenue for the company each year.) “You’ve got a double standard,” Wyden said. “You’re willing to sit by and hose the American consumer and give the breaks to people overseas.” Gonzalez acknowledged that the company makes a profit in those countries, even with the lower prices, but warned of dire consequence if U.S. prices fell to those levels. “If a market the size of the U.S. were to collapse to the lower end of that pricing model, I can just tell you that AbbVie would not be able to invest in the level of R & D that it invests in today,” Gonzalez said. In response to a question from Grassley, all the CEOs said they consider the risk of negative public opinion when they decide on their list prices. The Trump administration has proposed requiring companies to include their drugs’ list prices in all their direct-to-consumer advertising, a plan the companies have resisted. They also said they consider the reaction of federal officials to their price announcements.”The federal government is a very key aspect of our deliberations,” said Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, an answer echoed by all seven industry leaders. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.read more

Much of the focus by the Veterans Health Administration has been on the growing number of younger veterans who commit suicide. However, statistics show that the suicide rate for elderly veterans is higher than that of non-veterans of the same age.Robert Neilson was drafted in 1961. He spent two years in the Army just before the Vietnam War. Three years ago, the 76-year-old came into the VA Hospital in San Diego after contemplating suicide. “That’s what really brought me into the emergency room. That wasn’t really the first time,” Neilson said. “Two months after I got out of the service, I attempted suicide.”After he got out of the Army, Neilson remembers going back home to New Jersey. He was standing on a subway platform watching a speeding train.””And I figured if I just hold my hands in the air, I could just let [the train] suck me in,” Neilson said. “Somebody shouted, ‘What are you doing?’ And that was enough to snap me out of the trance. But I still didn’t seek any help. I just figured, OK, I’ll just struggle through life.”And he did. It would take another 50 years for Neilson to get help dealing with the trauma of a sexual assault he experienced in the military.”And the guilt was, I wasn’t strong enough to overpower that person. Plus, it was a high-ranking person,” he said.That was all he wanted to say about the incident that has haunted him most of his life.All sorts of service-related issues can lie dormant only to crop up later in life, said Ron Stark. Stark founded Moving to Zero, a nonprofit group in San Diego aimed at preventing veteran suicide. He counsels fellow veterans there who have contemplated suicide and more than a few are elderly.Stark retired from the Navy in 1994. He served aboard a submarine in the Arctic in the 1970s and again during Desert Storm. He understands that, for some older veterans, no accomplishment is ever enough.”We have things about stolen valor. Nobody wants to misrepresent themselves,” he said. “So I’m a Vietnam-era veteran. I’m not a Vietnam veteran. I was in Desert Storm, but I wasn’t in combat. We’re always talking about what we’re not quite.”Veterans struggling with suicide aren’t always wrestling with memories of combat. Stark suffered from depression most of his life and he never saw combat. He remembers sitting by the roadside with a pistol and contemplated pulling the trigger.”The military didn’t make me who I was,” he said.But the military establishes life-long habits, both good and bad. A soldier strives to be someone people can rely on, especially in critical situations.”You have a bad day at work and you go home. You have a bad day on a submerged submarine, then people die,” he said.So if you’re not feeling 100 percent, maybe it’s better to keep it to yourself, he notes. Stark describes suicidal feelings as a brief moment of blackness when other options fade from view.The VA National Suicide Data Report for 2005 to 2016, which came out in September 2018, highlights an alarming rise in suicides among veterans age 18 to 34 — 45 per 100,000 veterans. Younger veterans have the highest rate of suicide among veterans, but those 55 and older still represent the largest number of suicides. Moreover, the suicide rate for older veterans is higher than that of non-veterans. For veterans age 55 to 74 years old, the rate of suicide is 26 per 100,000, while nationally, the suicide rate in the same age group is 17.4 per 100,000. The rate ticks up even higher for veterans over 85 years old.The Veterans Health Administration has focused on finding risk factors that could lead someone to kill themselves, such as isolation, previous suicidal thoughts and access to firearms. Another big risk factor is that older men are also more likely to reject treatment for mental health issues.Among the people who have those risk factors, the VA still doesn’t know who will attempt suicide, said Colin Depp, a psychologist at the San Diego VA who has researched suicide among older veterans.”We’re not very far ahead in understanding who’s out there, who’s really likely to take their lives in the next hours, days, months,” he said.The VA emphasizes getting potentially suicidal veterans in the door, where health-care workers deploy a range of treatments, he said.That’s what has helped 76-year-old Robert Nielson. He was 73 years old before he sought help. As part of his own treatment, Neilson is now writing letters of encouragement to fellow veterans who are just beginning treatment as part of a VA program.Neilson pulled out one of the letters he wrote and explained how he can help a veteran he will never meet in person. “I don’t know you but I have faith in you. You’re going to make it,” he read.The letters are just one more nudge to keep veterans away from that dark moment when suicide feels like the only option.This story is part of the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration on in-depth military coverage with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and The Patriots Connection. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.read more

A note from the editor:For nine years, Disability News Service has survived largely through the support of a small number of disability organisations – most of them user-led – that have subscribed to its weekly supply of news stories. That support has been incredibly valuable but is no longer enough to keep DNS financially viable. For this reason, please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please remember that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring, and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS… The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has repeatedly breached freedom of information laws in an apparent attempt to prevent the release of secret reports written by disabled people recruited to work within its jobcentres.Two years ago, DWP published a work, health and disability green paper, Improving Lives, in which it revealed plans to recruit about 200 new “community partners”.Ministers said these community partners would have “personal and professional experience of disability” and would support work coaches in jobcentres.The aim was for them to “provide valuable first-hand insight” into the issues faced by disabled people in “securing and sustaining employment”, with work coaches able to draw on their local knowledge.The community partners, many of whom were to be seconded from disability organisations, would also help map local provision of peer support and service-user groups.But Disability News Service (DNS) has since learned that these community partners submit regular reports on their work, often based on their experiences of visiting jobcentres.For years, DNS has been reporting on the alleged failure of DWP jobcentres to safeguard disabled people left in vulnerable situations because of flaws in the benefits system.Many of these failings have led to the deaths of benefit claimants and have subsequently been reported on in secret DWP peer reviews (now renamed internal process reviews).The deaths of disabled people such as Lawrence Bond, David Clapson and Alan McArdle – and many others – have been linked to alleged failings of policy or practice within jobcentres.DNS therefore submitted a freedom of information request to DWP in May, asking to see any of the reports written by community partners working in London Jobcentre Plus districts in 2017 and 2018, in case any of them included concerns raised by Community Partners about such failings.Such requests are supposed to be answered within 20 working days, but there has so far been no written response from the department’s freedom of information department.On 5 July, DNS emailed DWP’s freedom of information team to ask why it had failed to respond to the request, and followed that up with another email on 19 July, warning that the failure to respond was a clear breach of the Freedom of Information Act.DNS has since spoken to a civil servant in DWP’s freedom of information team, who promised to try to find out why no response had been sent.She told DNS this week that she had repeatedly attempted to secure a response from the jobcentre operations team and had warned them that they had breached their legal duties under the act.She said she did not know why they had failed to respond to the request.She told DNS: “I chased it again this morning and I don’t know why it has taken so long. I have reminded them of their duty to reply in time and that is where I am with it.“You have every right to go to the Information Commissioner’s Office [to lodge a complaint].“I have tried. I don’t know why they are digging their heels. I am sorry.”A DWP spokeswoman refused to explain the reason for the repeated breach of the Freedom of Information Act.But she said in a statement: “Any issues relating to FOI requests can be dealt with by writing to freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.“If you are unhappy with the handling of an FOI request please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.“The latest statistics show that DWP answered 95 per cent of FOI requests within 20 working days, exceeding the information commissioner’s compliance threshold of 90 per cent. “As you know, DWP spokesperson statements must come from the DWP press office, and we regularly provide you with statements, as we are doing so in this instance.“Please can you therefore use the above wording in your story instead of quoting from phone calls with DWP employees.”read more

10 Strangest Medical Cases of 2018 Originally published on Live Science.by Taboolaby TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored LinksPromoted LinksPromoted LinksYou May LikeGundry MD SupplementsTop Cardiologist: This One Thing Will Properly Flush Out Your BowelsGundry MD SupplementsUndoVikings: Free Online GamePlay this for 1 minute and see why everyone is addictedVikings: Free Online GameUndoTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionOne Thing All Liars Have in Common, Brace YourselfTruthFinder People Search SubscriptionUndoKelley Blue Book2019 Lexus Vehicles Worth Buying for Their Resale ValueKelley Blue BookUndoUltimate Pet Nutrition SupplementsAging Cat? Help Them Thrive By Doing This One ThingUltimate Pet Nutrition SupplementsUndoAncestryThe Story Behind Your Last Name Will Surprise YouAncestryUndo 10 Medical Conditions That Sound Fake but Are Actually Real A man in Gaza with an extremely rare skin condition dubbed “tree man syndrome” says his life has been changed by a pioneering surgical treatment, according to news reports. The man, 44-year-old Mahmoud Taluli, has undergone four surgeries in the last two years to remove extensive, wood-like lesions on his hands, according to NPR. Prior to the surgeries, Taluli hadn’t been able to use his hands for more than a decade. “After years of suffering and solitude, I can finally live a normal life,” Taluli told NPR. “I can play with my children. I can go to family events. I no longer need to cover my hands when I go out in public.”Headbutting Tiny Worms Are Really, Really LoudThis rapid strike produces a loud ‘pop’ comparable to those made by snapping shrimps, one of the most intense biological sounds measured at sea.Your Recommended PlaylistVolume 0%Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcutsKeyboard Shortcutsplay/pauseincrease volumedecrease volumeseek forwardsseek backwardstoggle captionstoggle fullscreenmute/unmuteseek to %SPACE↑↓→←cfm0-9接下来播放Why Is It ‘Snowing’ Salt in the Dead Sea?01:53 facebook twitter 发邮件 reddit 链接https://www.livescience.com/65907-tree-man-gaza-surgery.html?jwsource=cl已复制直播00:0000:3500:35 Taluli has a rare genetic condition called epidermodysplasia verruciformis, which makes him much more susceptible to skin infections caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), compared with the average person, according to a 2010 report of the condition published in the journal Disease Markers. People with this condition have immune system problems that prevent them from properly fighting off HPVs — a group of more than 150 related viruses. In healthy people, HPVs often don’t cause symptoms, but in people with epidermodysplasia verruciformis, the infections lead to the formation of wart-like skin lesions, which progress to malignant tumors in about 50% of patients, according to the 2010 report. There is no cure or standard treatment for the condition. Taluli’s treatment has involved doctors making deep incisions into the skin to remove thousands of lesions, NPR reported. This tissue removal often requires skin grafts from other parts of his body to help with healing. The treatment has allowed Taluli to use his hands again, but it is not a cure — new growths continue to show up, and Taluli will need a fifth operation this summer to remove these new lesions, as well as some scar tissue, NPR reported. Still, the treatment has been largely successful in improving Taluli’s hand function. “We didn’t know if there would be anything viable left of his hands, but thank God it’s working,” Dr. Michael Chernofsky, a hand and microvascular surgeon at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, who treated Taluli, told NPR. Ultimately, doctors hope to develop a treatment that can help Taluli’s immune system better fight HPV, NPR reported. Another man with epidermodysplasia verruciformis hasn’t fared as well. Last month, it was reported that Abul Bajandar of Bangladesh had asked doctors to amputate his hands due to pain from the condition, according to Fox News. Although Bajandar has had more than 20 surgeries to remove skin lesions, the growths appear to be coming back worse than before. Chernofsky told NPR that amputation is usually not a good idea, because the patient would likely still experience pain from severed nerves. 27 Oddest Medical Case Reportsread more